Swastikas: For nice people?

CarmelaTal / the Raelians

CarmelaTal / the Raelians

Those flamboyant Raelians will go global in their own way this weekend: with a young woman in a globe.

To publicize their annual "World Swastika Rehabilitation Day," the Florida Raelians will gather on Lincoln Road and Washington Avenue in Miami Beach. They’ll load one of their members, Raquel Vergara, into a clear plastic globe marked with several versions of the bent cross. Then they’ll walk with her westward to the Nexxt Café, 700 Lincoln Road.

The event is set for 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, June 22.

It's all to show the benign nature of the swastika, which the Raelians have adopted as their symbol. Far from the emblem of evil the Nazis made it into, it's actually the symbol of the ancient alien scientists who created the human race, the Raelians say.

"We want to end the terror of looking at the symbol," says Donna Newman of North Miami Beach, the priest in charge for the 20 or so Raelians of Florida. "People need to get over feeling hate over any object."

The religion actually combines the swastika with a Star of David to form its own symbol. Its website Pro-Swastika points out that the swastika is an age-old symbol of Asian religions including Buddhism and Hinduism.

Raelians have developed a kind of knack for getting public attention. Last year's Swastika Rehabilitation Day saw them standing outside Nexxt Café, painting swastikas on a bikini-clad girl.

Their fellows will stage other public events for Swastika Rehabilation Day in several other cities nationwide, as well as places like Tel Aviv, Israel.

Newman sent invitations to South Florida Buddhist and Hindu organizations to take part in the Saturday event. No one took her up on it, though, she says.